The Director General of “Les Mutuelles Réunies” (LMR), – a Yaounde-based company carrying out insurance consulting and intermediation operations in IARDT (fire, accident, miscellaneous risks, and transport) has said digitalization remains a key factor that operators in the sector have to rely on for growth within the current dispensation of modernization.
Les Mutuelles Réunies schooling staff on benefits of digitalizing services
Styve Tchachuang made the observation in an interview he recently granted, explaining steps taken in the implementation of the digitalization within the company and its accompanying benefits to the insurance sector to both insured and insurers.
“I am enthusiastic about this transformation, which is taking place and which will undoubtedly improve the image of insurers with policy holders,” Tchachuang said, noting that digitization more than ever before appears to be an essential tool for the sector as it enables improvement in processing of information and in tend better service delivery.
“Within LMR, digitalization therefore appears today as a real asset, both internally and externally,” he said, adding, that this helps them meet the real needs of policy holders according to social class, age, and the specific reality of each of them, in order to send them an adapted digital offer.
“LMR took precedence for almost a decade. Over the years, we have been able to build a strong presence on social networks, through the creation and animation of our social pages Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, a YouTube channel and a website. Policy holders want to benefit from a local service that is accessible and fluid, what better than digital solutions these days, to make information accessible and to connect all users everywhere in the world,” he said.
“The insurance sector in Cameroon has recently entered the digital transformation with recent reforms related to automobile insurance carried out by the Association of Insurance Companies, ASAC, and the supervisory authority, requiring the subscription of online insurance policies for categories 4A and 4B and also the centralization of all the other categories,” he explained, adding, that this move helps to destroy the practice of underpricing currently in the market.
Quizzed on his view on the online underwriting of insurance policies undertaken by institutions in the sector, Tchachuang, said the LMR has offered the possibility of taking out insurance policies online through its direct network accompanied by the implementation of the LIRA (rapid insurance delivery) service, with the help of messengers who hand over insurance policies to customers, regardless of their location.
He said the new measures gives the possibility to insurers to carry out the subscriptions online, a step which he said enables them to distinguish between different category of insurers, ensure insurers respect their commitments, and to indemnify claims and enables the customer to be the king since price will no longer be the key factor in choosing his insurer but the service that will be essential through creativity, ingenuity, positive competition, and digitization.
He assured that LMR works to compliance with clear and strict regulations which the sector is subjected to in order to steer clear sanction from regulators. “LMR takes the necessary measures within its network so as not to be outside these regulations, through regular training of its distribution network, as well as periodic internal control systems,” he revealed, adding, that LMR works with APCAR, the Professional Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers) that permits them to speak with one voice to policyholders.
He said adaptation and innovation are key for the insurance sector everywhere as the world continues to undergo modernity. He added that with a less than 5% insurance penetration in Africa with a lower rate in Cameroon, digitalization not for its sake but for adaption to the realities of the Cameroonian market remains key for the sector.
Cameroon it should be noted is undergoing a whirlwind of changes in recent years in relation to having fully operational digital economy including the insurance sector. Experts say combining innovative technologies with a digital mind-set holds great potential for insurance providers to achieve growth and to develop new business models and services.
No doubt the digital economy committee of the Cameroon employers’ union recently held a Digital Meet-Up which aimed at providing an overview of the insurance offer in Cameroon, with an emphasis on the digitization of the core-process to improve the quality of service and the relationship with the insured.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
No comments:
Post a Comment